People on here have lost children, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters....and many feel those they have lost are still with them in 'spirit' - in heaven, whatever. Would these posters who refer to God as 'imaginary friend' also ridicule those posters who take comfort in their belief that the loved one is still around in spirit?

To use it in the manner you say, yes (as a general term, no not really)

I'd get p'd off if someone kept telling me I was going to hell (or whatever) even though I don't actually believe in it. It's not about belief or faith it's about being respectful to other people - words do hurt.

What bossykate and bringbackmybonnie said. It does the poster no credit tbh. I take the namecallers a lot less seriously than the many other posters who can manage a debate about faith and atheism without being juvenile.

Bang on, FAQ. There's no proof either way. There's only opinion and faith. And in the absence of proof, all opinions are equally valid. Like I said, it is rude to ridicule someone's faith.

I don't know where I stand. I was raised to believe, When I was a kid I used to chat to god (in my head, at night!) about my day, my feelings, my problems. But as an adult, I have too many questions with no answers to have an unconditional faith, and if you were to ask me I'd say I'm agnostic, but you just watch me in times of stress or upset, you just watch me pray! I don't know why.

As well as the part of me that goes "yes, but what about...", there's this tiny part of me that wants to believe in a god, in an afterlife, in a design - in a POINT! I do not want to believe that everything we suffer in life is random and meaningless. I want to believe that when we die there is something else, something better and happiness. It gives me comfort and that is as good a reason as any other for anyone to believe, isn't it? (even if they only sort of believe, sometimes...)

If this poster (bringbackmybonnie, think its the one you may be referring to on a name change- might be wrong) wants to refer to my beleifs in this way then it saddens me that he / she ahs such a lack f respect for my feelings, but beyond that now I think of it the poster has bought me a right to shove my belefs in thir faith, no? I never preach (or rather try not to, DH says otherwise) or try to force my point, we're alla dults etc etc etc but if someone forced their beliefs on me in thsi way that changes the balance.

Except I have too much respect for other people.

The only thing that really offends me is A) the implication that believers are witless; and B) the fact that the poster is aware it hurts peoples feelings to be called names and doesnb't care about that. It is that fact that places them off my radar, rather than the use of a term.

Mind, I have been open abut about my awareness that my faith culd be a crutch that helps me be optimistic about a life quite far dvorced from te average, so perhaps I am open more to ideas? Don't know.

It's a recurring topic wuzzlefraggle. Over the years we've had posters who have repeatedly asserted that all practising Christians are paedophiles or complicit in child abuse, others who cannot discuss religious observance/atheism/education etc without referring to God as a pink rabbit or an imaginary friend.Tbh the former was downright offensive, and was reported to MNHQ, the latter is more a bit tired and laboured. After the first fifty posts containing these sparkling insights it all gets a bit hackneyed and predictable really.